Beautifully Poor

Well it is here: 2016. Within a few hours we will all be watching the ball drop and celebrating the birth of a new year and the old year behind us. I'm not sure how your year went, but mine was full of ups and downs. From Lawrence making Supervisor at work, to us making a small community impact with the homeless to losing our third child in early pregnancy it has been full of happiness and sorrow. I am very happy to see the year end though it did come and go VERY quickly (am I the only one?). I usually don't make resolutions but due to the depressing nature of the last few months I have decided on a few things. First off, I will be making it a point to have more "me" fun. Time with friends, more time out with my husband and more fun as a family. Overall, I would love to see adventure, even if it isn't anything not worthy. The second, which I have started already, is to FINALLY finish learning the French language. I want to be able to fluently speak and read it.

Celebrating 90 years of providing smiles, sportsmanship and service to millions of people worldwide, the world famous Harlem Globetrotters will bring their unrivaled family show to an arena near you during their 90th Anniversary World Tour. On the court, the Globetrotters' 90-year celebration will feature some of the greatest athletes and entertainers on the planet. With a star-studded roster featuring Big Easy Lofton, Ant Atkinson, Hi-Lite Bruton, Thunder Law, Bull Bullard and Cheese Chisholm - plus female stars TNT Maddox and Sweet J Ekworomadu* - the Globetrotters' one-of-a-kind show is unrivaled in the world of family entertainment. Every game will showcase incredible ball handling wizardry, rim-rattling dunks, trick shots, hilarious comedy and unequaled fan interaction. You won't want your family to miss it - use promo code FAMFUN to save 25% off your tickets. 25% off Harlem Globetrotters 90th Anniversary World Tour - The world famous Harlem Globetrotters will bri

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. The hustle and bustle and excitement always gets me in the mood, sometimes WELL before the Holiday season actually begins. Since I was a kid I've always loved Christmas, even though we knew Santa wasn't real, because it isn't about that, it's about the fun! As I've grown older, my gift list has grown smaller, as we keep our budget tight and giving of time and friendship is much more valuable than little baubles that will just sit on a shelf and eventually be packed away to be forgotten. Unless I have a meaningful gift to give, I usually don't. This year will even be the first year my husband and I don't exchange gifts under the tree; instead we opted for a family gift and filled each others stockings with smaller gifts that were smart and that the person could use. Spending thousands on Christmas is not our thing, let alone hundreds. That's just us, though I know some thoroughly enjoy the big ba

I'm always looking for something new and tasty to add to my favorite Christmas cookies and this is definitely a favorite. The first time I had them was when I was a kid, my mom and I had found the recipe and decided to try them. Here I am revisiting an old favorite. So simple and easy with very few ingredients; they are light and buttery with the crunch from the pecans. SO GOOD! Here's the recipe for you to try: Ingredients 1 (18 1/4 oz) package Butter Recipe Cake Mix 1 (3.4 oz) package instant butterscotch pudding mix 1/4 cup flour 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 egg 1 cup chopped pecans Combine first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl well. Stir in the pecans; the dough will be crumbly. Roll Tablespoonfulls into balls and place 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes then remove from pans onto wire racks. Makes almost 3 dozen.

The Witch of Lime Street  ~ Séance, Seduction and Houdini in the Spirit World by David Jaher is an intriguing historical journey into the 1920's. Curiosity was building into all things spiritual and magic as it was post World War I. People were searching for something bigger; something to make meaning out of our lives. It seems it started with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, none other than the author of the Sherlock Holmes books. He was searching, like most, for answers. What happened to the fallen men after the war?  Plenty of frauds existed, just as it is today and has always been and believe it or not, Houdini was all a part of this. He was a masterful genius who could see beyond the tricks of mediums and self-proclaimed phsyics. He would even call them out during their own shows and prove them wrong, humiliating them in front of their crowds. He disproved many mediums as frauds and even as he became known as one to blow their cover, they would go undercover when he was kno

Submarines, Secrets & A Daring Rescue is a book geared towards children 8-12 years old and is great at bringing history into a fiction book yet making it exciting and interesting for young readers. The authors, Robert J. Skead and Robert A. Skead, take the reader on a journey into the lives of two 15 year old twins during the Revolutionary War. They lead us on exciting adventures like bringing secret messages to special recipients, sailing through the night with the world's first submarine used in combat (fiction) and fight off theives. As the title suggests they also have to rescue someone very close to them whom I won't disclose; you will just have to read it yourself. Personally I found this book exciting from front to back. As it is written for younger children, I finished it within a few hours so it is a very easy read. The fact that it is exciting will keep kids intrigued with no worries of it gathering dust on the bookshelf before it is finished. I am especi

Did you know that thanks to  AdoramaPIX  you can make keepsake photo's made from METAL??? Yes, you read that right, metal. This new way to capture photo's is a breakthrough in printing and keeps photo's longer and safe. The colors are vivid and deep and I am truly impressed with the quality captured in my family's Christmas photo here. The durability of a metal print is unsurpassed as it can survive getting wet unlike other pictures and there is no need to purchase a frame. I am absolutely in love with this! This is an 8x12 Metal Print in White Satin, Designer Shape To create your own, just visit adoramapix.com  and under the wall decor tab choose metal prints. You can choose from 4 different finishes: Glossy White, White Satin (pictured above), Glossy Silver or Silver Satin. There are also 8 shapes to choose from making this so fun to customize: Square, Rectangle, Panoramic, Round, Heart, Oval, Designer Shape (pictured above) and Designer Shape 2

As a child, I have always loved the Nutcracker. The story is magical and the different renditions potrayed in ballet are just beautiful. I have always wanted to go see the live ballet and this year I was extremely lucky to be able to, thanks to USFamilyGuide.com . My mom taught me the love of culture and the beauty in the arts, so naturally I wanted to take her along on this wonderful adventure. As we entered the beautiful Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis - which is gorgeous - there was a beautiful ballerina ready to have her picture taken with you for a fair price (she was also there at the end). Any little girls dream could come true with that! They also had a souvenir table with beautiful posters, trinkets and Russian dolls and Nutcrackers as well as things to be purchased from the show like DVD's and CD's. But this was only the  beginning. We were graciously granted seats very close to the stage with a TERRIFIC view I must say.  We were so close we

Make Christmas magic With Portable North Pole! Portable North Pole is a magical console used by Santa and his elves to send personalized video messages to the folks you care most about. In just a few simple clicks, you can provide Santa with all the information he needs to create a unique, tailor-made video message that would even bring a smile to Scrooge's face! Portable North Pole videos come in 2 main types: Christmas and Birthday greetings. And they're free! Or you can upgrade to a Premium version, with more Santa facetime, extra personalization options, the ability to include more photos and truly incredible scenes from his village in the North Pole PLUS the long anticipated Santa's Verdict, that lets your loved one know if they are one Santa's Naughty or Nice list.  USE PROMO CODE: BLG20PNP and SAVE 20%  To redeem the voucher codes, go to: https://www.portablenorthpole.com/vouchers Save 20% Make Christmas magic With Portable North Pole! - USE PROM